Graham

Graham was heading up a large directorate in a government department undergoing wide-scale organisational change. He had a significant role in planning and ensuring effective implementation of change initiatives within the department.

Whilst being well-regarded and respected by his colleagues, Graham felt that he was unable to be fully influential in his role, and was therefore unable to make the most effective contribution to the organisation at a critical time in the change process.

His style of thinking and communicating was significantly different from a number of his colleagues and consequently some of his key encounters would end in deadlock or confrontation.

Graham worked with his coach to understand others' perspectives of the business and of him and consequently found that he could employ strategies to accommodate and acknowledge their position at the same time as engaging others with his views from a more empathic stance. He grew to understand more clearly both the strengths and the drawbacks of his style in the prevailing climate and became better able to contribute his own perspective and work with greater respect to his colleagues.

He learned to pay more attention to his own emotions as a source of information, giving him a wider range of choices, especially in his communications with others.

His relationships with other board members became more collaborative and facilitated major change within the organisation. Graham also felt that his learning had significant benefits for him in his life outiside work.